Multimedia

Climate Change Resource Reel

04.20.06

From polar ice to phytoplankton, parts of the earth system are constantly changing. At NASA, scientists strive to better understand these changes and how they are interconnected. Using remote-sensing data from satellites, this research diagnoses our planet’s current health and will help future generations and explorers understand the earth system as a whole.

GSFC Library #: G05-083ACenter Contact: Sarah DeWitt: 301-286-0535

This resource collection highlights the best of NASA's climate-related visualizations. Showcasing elements of the entire earth system, this compilation includes years of remarkable satellite data in one, convenient location.+ Watch NASA TV Climate Change Promo

Tour of the CryosphereThis animation leads viewers across the icy reaches of Antarctica, the shrinking ice cap around the North Pole, and other frozen, terrestrial regions of the globe. It conveys the interconnectedness of the cryosphere and impact of climate change on the earth system. (streaming video – with audio and captions). Credit: NASA

2005 Arctic Sea Ice DeclineThe minimum concentration of Arctic sea ice in 2005 occurred on September 21, 2005, when the sea ice extent dropped to 2.05 million sq. miles, the lowest extent yet recorded in the satellite record. The yellow line represents the average location of the ice edge of the perennial sea ice cover for the years 1979 through 2005.
(3 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Ice AlbedoWith an albedo of up to 80 percent or more, snow-covered terrain reflects most of the earth’s incoming solar radiation back into space, cooling the lower atmosphere. When snow cover melts, the albedo drops suddenly to less than about 30 percent, allowing the ground to absorb more solar radiation, heating the earth's surface and lower atmosphere.
(660 Kb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Black and White: Soot on IceBoth greenhouse gases and smog can actively increase the melting rate of sea ice. As smog reaches the poles, it infiltrates the ice, creating a darker surface that can absorb more heat than clean ice. As the bright polar ice melts, less sunlight is reflected into space. Instead, the ocean absorbs the light and warms up, adding more energy for melting.
(3.2 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Snow Cover and Sea Surface TemperaturesWith an albedo of up to 80 percent or more, snow-covered terrain reflects most of the earth’s incoming solar radiation back into space, cooling the lower atmosphere. When snow cover melts, the albedo drops suddenly to less than about 30 percent, allowing the ground to absorb more solar radiation, heating the earth's surface and lower atmosphere.
Credit: NASA

Larsen B Ice ShelfIn 2002, a gigantic section of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula shattered and crashed into the ocean. It disintegrated in a mere 35 days, losing 1,255 square miles - an area somewhat larger than Rhode Island. Captured from space using a variety of orbiting instruments, these pictures illustrate the dramatic changes that may occur as a function of a changing climate.
(1.7 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Jakobshavn Glacier RetreatFrom 1997 to 2004, Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier nearly doubled its speed, increasing the total amount of ice it discharged and measurably altering the annual rate of global sea level rise. Scientists continue to monitor Jakobshavn closely, and use it as a dynamic laboratory for understanding how other glaciers around the world may respond to global changes in climate.
(2.8 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Iceland Glacier RecessionThe Breidamerkurjokull Glacier in Iceland, as shown by these Landsat images, has been receding since 1973. It was thought by some glaciologists that this particular glacier was receding quicker in the late 1990s than it did in the late 1980s or 1970s. After careful analysis NASA glaciologist, Dorothy Hall, concluded that the recession from 1997 to 2000 occured at a similar rate to the recession between 1973 and 2000. (924 Kb – no audio). Credit: NASA/USGS

Warmer and Cooler Based on data from 1983-2003, surface warming trends in the Arctic have been eight times greater than trends over the past 100 years, suggesting a rapid acceleration in warming. The sea ice melt season has increased by 10 to 17 days per decade. However, while average temperatures are increasing throughout the Arctic, there are several places where there appears to be cooling.
(952 Kb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Ice: The Planet’s ThermostatThis animation begins with a view of Greenland as it may have looked 100,000 years ago. As the climate begins to change, glaciers surrounding the edge of Greenland begin to slump, then melt, adding billions of gallons of freshwater to the oceans. The humid air from the coasts rises to the interior, where it cools and dumps snow, thickening the ice sheets near the center of the land mass.
(5.6 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Click on image to view interview.

Interview with Claire Parkinson/Senior Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterTranscript: Sea ice in the arctic always increases a great deal in the wintertime. It decreases during the summertime. That’s true every year. What we’re more interested in is how it changes from one year to another. And we’ve seen – by using satellite data that gives us pictures of the entire sea ice cover – we’ve seen that it has retreated somewhat from the late 70’s until now, and that’s a concern because it is affecting other elements in the climate system.This section also includes an interview with Josefino Comiso, Senior Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. (Streaming video with captions). Credit: NASA

Ocean Sciences

Click on image to view animation.

Measuring Sea Level Change Melting ice is only one contributor to sea level change. Ocean chemistry, temperature, and the shape of the earth’s basins all affect what we know as “sea level.” In this visualization, we look at changes in sea level measured from space using data from the Jason and TOPEX/Poseidon satellites.
(21.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Sea Surface TemperaturesSea surface temperature plays a vital role in the behavior of a range of climate and weather issues. NASA not only measures sea surface temperature from space using powerful scientific instruments, but it also studies temperature processes in advanced computer models. The first image shows actual measurements of sea surface temperature; the second image shows temperature measurements based on computer simulations.
(12.9 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Hurricanes and Sea Surface TemperatureHurricanes and typhoons draw their energy from warm tropical seas: the warmer the water, the more fuel (in the form of water vapor) for their engines. This visualization shows sea surface temperatures for most of the 2005 hurricane season. Note the correspondence between the storm tracks and the sea surface temperature response (cooling of waters); this is particularly noticeable for hurricanes Dennis, Emily, and Katrina.
Credit: NASA

Ocean Circulation Conveyor Belt Helps Balance ClimatePart of the ocean conveyor belt moves warm water from the tropics poleward, releasing heat to the atmosphere and moderating temperatures at higher latitudes. If the poles warm excessively, meltwater from glaciers and the polar ice cap could shut off this circulation by forming a layer of fresh, less dense water that acts as an insulating barrier between the atmosphere and the ocean.
(2.8 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Global PhytoplanktonNASA research shows phytoplankton concentrations changing in conjunction with a constantly changing climate. Warmer ocean temperatures and low winds may affect the population densities of these microscopic, free-floating plants. In the following visualization, green areas in the oceans represent high phytoplankton concentrations, and blue areas indicate low concentrations. (3.9 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA/Orbimage

Mt. Kilimanjaro's Vanishing Snow CapThe 11,000 year-old ice-cap on the summit of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro has almost completely disappeared, primarily due to increasing average annual temperatures in the region. 80% of the ice fields have been lost in only the last century, and some studies project that glaciers could be completely gone from Kilimanjaro by the year 2015.
(1.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA/USGS

A Shrinking LakeWhen it thrived, Lake Chad seemed to defy the vast ocean of sand directly to its north. Persistent drought dropped the lake from its position as the world's sixth-largest lake; it is now one-tenth its former size. The most dramatic decrease in the size of the lake came in the fifteen years between January 1973 and January 1987.
(2.3 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA/USGS

Climate Change Brings Crop LossesClimate models show a potential doubling of crop damage due to excess soil moisture in US Corn Belt states over the next 30 years. The following images show projected rainfall increases (blue) and decreases (red).
a) Projections for 2020, 2050 and 2080, assuming high population and greenhouse emissions growth rates.
b) Projections assuming moderate growth rates. (6.2 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Click on image to view animation.

Landsat 1993 Midwest FloodsAccording to some climate models, extreme rain events like the "once-in-a-hundred-
years" 1993 Midwest floods may become more frequent in the next 30 years. Images from Landsat of the Mississippi River before and during flooding
(4.5 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA/USGS

Interview with Dot Zukor/Deputy Director, Earth Sciences NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Transcript: When NASA scientists look at remote sensing data, we are looking at trends, connections, and unusual changes – anything that is out of the ordinary that we wouldn’t normally expect to see. We have models that we’ve developed over the years that indicate to us and describe how we think things would happen and how we think things would change. But now we’re in a position of actually getting data so we can compare that data and what the data is telling us to the models that we have, and see if they both agree. (Streaming video with captions). Credit: NASA

Atmosphere

Click on image to view animation.

Antarctic Ozone Hole in 2005A relatively warm Antarctic winter in 2005 kept the thinning of the protective ozone layer over Antarctica, known as the ozone 'hole,' slightly smaller than in 2004. The ozone hole is not technically a hole where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic that happens at the beginning of southern hemisphere spring (August-October).
(4.0 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Earth’s Energy OutputEarth's output energy (thermal energy emitted into space); heat energy radiated from the earth is shown in varying shades of yellow, red, blue and white. The brightest yellow areas, such as the Sahara Desert, are emitting the most energy out to space, while the dark blue polar regions and bright white clouds are the coldest areas on Earth, and are emitting the least energy. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) on board the Terra satellite provided the data for this image.
(4.5 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Greenhouse Gases: MethaneAs anaerobic bacteria break down polymers and other carbon-based garbage methane gets produced as a waste gas. As it enters the atmosphere, it reduces the earth's ability to cool by absorbing more reflected heat from the planet than would otherwise occur. Other sources of methane production include rice cultivation, industrial production, and cattle herds.
(7.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Cloud AlbedoClouds greatly affect the earth's solar energy balance. They both deflect a portion of the influx of solar energy from reaching our planet's surface and insulate to prevent a total loss of thermal radiance out into space. This important energy balance is essential to supporting life on earth.
(3.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Balancing ActOnly about 70% of the solar energy that reaches earth is absorbed, while the other 30% is reflected back into space by atmosphere and aerosols, ocean/land and clouds. There is a delicate balance between absorption and reflection as well as a release of energy by rocks, air and sea warming and emitting increasing amounts of thermal radiation (heat) in the form of long-wave infrared light.
(6.8 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Click on image to view animation.

Water Vapor and Climate ChangeWater vapor is an important greenhouse gas, and measurements suggest that it is increasing in the stratosphere. This may be due to changes in air transport between the upper and lower atmosphere caused by climate change or it could occur in the microphysical processes within tropical clouds. This GOES satellite image shows water vapor moving around the earth.
(7.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Global Carbon MonoxideThis animated globe shows the propagation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) across the earth in 2000. CO is an air pollutant that can interact with other gases to produce tropospheric ozone, a greenhouse gas that is a human health hazard. Red represents the highest levels of CO and blue represents the lowest. (11.3 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA/NCAR/CSA

Interview with James Hansen/Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Transcript: In the "business as usual" scenario CO2 emissions continue to increase and we end up with an increase of a few hundred parts per million in carbon dioxide by the end of the century and CO2 still continuing up at that time.

It's pretty clear that business as usual will get us well into the range of dangerous effects – dangerous effects on sea level, on plant and animal species, on strengthening storms and stronger droughts - so we know that we don't want to have warming of 5 or 10 degrees. But how damaging is 1 or 2 or 3 degrees? We don't really know that.

If we want to find a climate that was warmer by 6-9 degrees Fahrenheit, we have to go all the way back to the middle Pliocene, about 3 million years ago. And at that time sea level was about 25 to 35 meters higher than it is today. That’s about -- 25 meters is about 80 feet. So, it is a huge sea level change. And that is something which, at all costs, we need to try to avoid because more than half the people in the world live within 50 miles of a coastline.
(Streaming video with captions). Credit: NASA

Click on image to view animation.

Aerosols Absorb, Aerosols ReflectAerosols have a strong impact on climate. Some aerosols absorb heat, thus creating conditions that may have contributed to warming of a region’s atmosphere. But other aerosols can reflect sunlight, creating cooling conditions. The following two animations illustrate the process.
(3.6 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Satellites

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ICESatThe principal mission of the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite is to measure the surface elevation of the large ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland. Measurements of elevation-change over time will show whether the ice sheets are melting or growing as the earth's climate undergoes natural and human-induced changes.
(4.7 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

NASA's Earth Observing FleetNASA's Earth Observing fleet continues to grow and represents a major milestone in the history of earth science. The satellites’ remote-sensing capabilities have facilitated all kinds of wide-scale and synergistic research endeavors that until the last decade have been impossible to even consider.
(3.9 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Aqua SatelliteAqua, Latin for water, is a NASA earth science satellite mission named for the large amount of information that it collects about the earth's water cycle, including sea ice, land ice, snow cover on land, evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, and precipitation. (1.9 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA

Click on image to view animation.

MODIS instrument on the TERRA SatelliteNASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer measures the percent of earth's surface covered by clouds and helps determine the impact of clouds and aerosols on the planet's energy budget. The sensor has an unprecedented channel for detecting wispy cirrus clouds - believed to contribute to climate change.
(9.1 Mb – no audio). Credit: NASA